Jeremiah 1:4–10
The Word of God in the Mouth of the Youth
National Lutheran Schools Week
January 30th, 2002
Today we have a few different threads to weave
together. It is the Fourth Sunday in
Epiphany, a season in which we continue to ponder the revelation of God’s Son,
Jesus Christ, the Holy One of God, the Christ.
We see Jesus visit the synagogue of Capernaum, cast out a demon, heal
the sick, and go off to preach in the towns of Judea. He does all the things the Messiah, the
Savior, is supposed to be doing. And of
course, we know it will lead to his ultimate saving act – his death on the
cross and glorious resurrection.
We also recognize today “National Lutheran Schools
Week”. It’s our once-a-year celebration
of not just our own school, but the Lutheran schools God has blessed throughout
our country. We have a rich tradition of
teaching children not just the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic, but
also the fear and love of the Lord. We
want them, especially, to know Christ – their savior from sin and death. And we certainly seek to do that here at
Messiah Lutheran Classical Academy.
In light of all this, I want to focus on our reading from
Jeremiah today. Here we read about the
call of Jeremiah, to be a prophet of God.
It was a tough job that God was calling Jeremiah to do. He lived in a time in which the people of God
had in many ways turned away from the truth.
They blended together their worship of false gods with the true
God. They abused and took advantage of
the poor. And the religious leaders,
especially, thought that no judgment of God would come upon them. Nothing bad could happen to them. They felt safe and secure, because, after
all, Jerusalem had the temple – and no one was going to destroy God’s house!
Jeremiah was sent to warn them otherwise. It was a false sense of security. It was a lie.
If the people persisted in their ways, God would send them punishment
and judgment. He would not protect them
from their enemies. He would withdraw
his presence from the temple and let the wicked nations have their way. And that is just what happened. The Babylonians came and destroyed Jerusalem,
demolished the temple, and carried the Jews off into exile in Babylon.
Jeremiah is known as the “weeping prophet” because he lived
to see all of this unfold. His other
book, the book of Lamentations, describes this judgment of God, too.
So what does the weeping prophet have to do with Lutheran
Schools, or more importantly, our Epiphany season revealing of Christ?
In each of these cases, we see the Word of God being spoken
– for the good of God’s people.
With Jeremiah, you have a young man called and appointed as
a prophet. But Jeremiah was
hesitant. He was timid, because he was
young. He didn’t know how to speak. Perhaps he wasn’t well educated and well-polished
in the art of rhetoric. Maybe it was
just a scary task that he’d never undertaken.
And furthermore, the people he was to preach to – they were
a tough crowd. They were hard-hearted
and hard-headed. They weren’t likely to
receive Jeremiah well. Any student of
the Old Testament knows how people treat the prophets who come with an unwelcome
message. They often kill the
messenger. So there was plenty of reason
for Jeremiah to be afraid.
But God sends him anyway.
He tells him not to be afraid. He
tells him not to say “I’m too young”. He
doesn’t accept excuses and fear, but instead provides exactly what Jeremiah
needs. God gives him his word. He puts his words in Jeremiah’s mouth.
And so it is for our children, and for us. Though we are not prophets like Jeremiah was,
God calls us to be his disciples. Students of his word. Though we are not given
to preach and foretell of doom and gloom, we are witnesses to Christ always
ready to give an answer to the hope within us.
Though, like Jeremiah, we may feel ourselves
unqualified. First of all, we are
sinners. We get things wrong. We are unworthy. No good works or good intentions we have
measure up before God. But he does not
call us on our merits any more than he did Jeremiah. Our God operates by grace.
And so he puts his word in our ears. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the
word of God. He sends pastors and
teachers and Christian friends and parents and grandparents to teach us the
faith, to train us up in righteousness. To
thoroughly equip us for righteousness.
And this is a huge part of what we do at our Lutheran
school. Every day our students hear the
word of God, the good news of Jesus Christ.
Every day we sing and pray and hear the Scriptures. Every day in chapel, in the classroom, and in
many other ways – God’s word is set forth, taught, and cherished. But of course
it starts at home with Christian parents teaching their children God’s Word.
And this is what matters.
So when we say, “I don’t know what to say”, God has already spoken. He has put his word in your ear, your heart,
and yes also your mouth.
One of the blessings of our school is that the children take
to heart and recite God’s word. They
speak it, and through repetition, make it their own. Each week our catechesis – questions and
answers – our children learn key passages from Scripture and important explanations
of it from Luther’s Small Catechism. (For Example, “What is John 8:31-32?” Jesus
said… “If you abide in my word you are truly my disciples, and you will know
the truth, and the truth will set you free”) These treasures and blessings
are truly some of the best gifts we parents can afford our children.
Ah, but we can’t forget about Jesus, either. He’s the one who God’s Word is all
about. We keep seeing more, learning
more about Jesus in the Epiphany season.
Who he is, and what he has come to do.
More and more, the gospels reveal him to us. We’ve seen him as God’s beloved Son at his
baptism, as the one who amazes the teachers of Israel in the temple as a boy. He shows himself as the True Bridegroom at
the wedding at Cana. Even the demons confess
him as the Holy one of God, the Son of God, the Christ. And today our reading from Luke shows further
who Jesus is – he’s the Messiah. For he
drops all the important calling cards.
He heals the sick. He casts out
demons. But most importantly of all – he
preaches God’s word.
Now, Jesus isn’t just any ordinary preacher. He preaches with authority. He doesn’t need to defer to anyone. He doesn’t wait for God to put his words in
his mouth – he is the very word made flesh who dwells among us. He is no mere prophet, just a mouthpiece and
representative of God. He is the Son of
God, the very God of very God, begotten, not made. He is the way, the truth and the life. His words are spirit and life.
And his message is like no other message. He’s not just another among the many
religious leaders who tell you how to do the right things, say the right
prayers, work the right works to get yourself right with God. He doesn’t bring a to-do list for salvation,
a hidden secret to spiritual success, a recipe for the good life. Jesus preaches the kingdom of God.
And what is the kingdom of God? It’s God’s gracious activity as our
king. It’s his work in our midst. And most especially it’s the cross.
Jesus died for you. This simple message of salvation in
Christ crucified is the greatest gift of all.
It is the truth that sets us free.
It is the word of God that he places even in the mouths of babes, of
youth, of those who are unqualified and rough-around-the-edges. It is the salvation of sinners, and of you
and me.
Friends, let nothing ever sever you from the Word of
God. For that word is about Jesus Christ
crucified for you.
Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
declares the Lord.”
Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.
No comments:
Post a Comment